Police Search Missing Calif. Woman's Home

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, February 17, 2003

Police returned to the home of a missing pregnant woman Tuesday to search for clues in her disappearance and drove away with her husband's new truck.

The follow-up search came after police said they made unspecified new findings in the case of the 27-year-old substitute teacher, Laci Peterson.

"Discoveries during the investigation have necessitated the revisiting of the scene," police Detective Doug Ridenour said.

He did not elaborate and said the application for the search warrant had been sealed by court order.

Laci Peterson was last seen Christmas Eve when, according to her husband Scott, he left to go fishing alone in the San Francisco Bay Area. He reported his wife missing when he returned.

Tuesday was the second time police had obtained a warrant to search their modest one-story house, which features a backyard pool.

During the first search, on Dec. 26, officers seized Scott Peterson's truck and 14-foot boat and trailer.

With those vehicles still in police storage, he recently traded in his wife's Land Rover for a new pickup. Investigators took that truck Tuesday to be searched, said Sgt. Ron Cloward.

Ridenour said police did not plan to announce the results of the search unless there was a major development.

Scott Peterson, a 30-year-old fertilizer salesman, was home when the search began Tuesday and cooperated with police, Cloward said. A few hours after the search began, he left alone in another vehicle with his bags packed. He returned a few hours later and handed officers some papers.

Police have not named Scott Peterson as a suspect in his wife's disappearance but they said they have not ruled him out.

Suspicion publicly has focused on Scott Peterson since he acknowledged last month that he had an extramarital affair.

A reward of $500,000 has been offered for information leading to Laci's safe return. She was due to deliver the couple's first baby this month.